Let's face it, Transmogrification is...

#1 - Aug. 18, 2011, 12:12 a.m.
Blizzard Post
Let's face it, Transmogrification is going to end Blizzards creativity when it comes to gear design. What's the point of Blizzard trying to astound people with aesthetics anymore now that every paladin in the world is going to resemble a banana. This is by no means a hate thread, it's simply a debate thread.
In my humble opinion, Blizzard has no need to try and make great looking gear anymore now that everyone will be rolling around in Vanilla gear. No longer will we see new tiers that are Transmogrification worthy like the majority of the low level tier was. If anyone would bring up this problem, I can picture them passing it off with a simple "try Transmogrifying your gear to make it look better."
Maybe I'm just over reacting, maybe I'm not. What does everyone else think?

P.S. People have brought up the idea that there should be an interface button to disable viewing of Transmogrified items, this seems like it would be a pain to make but I think it's the best solution I've heard yet. Then at least it would be a win-win, if you wanted to RP some with some friends in old gear you could, but if you wanted to raid without seeing people looking like all different colors of power rangers, you could too.
Thoughts?
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#17 - Aug. 18, 2011, 12:28 a.m.
Blizzard Post
08/17/2011 05:12 PMPosted by Eruzies
Let's face it, Transmogrification is going to end Blizzards creativity when it comes to gear design. What's the point of Blizzard trying to astound people with aesthetics anymore now that every paladin in the world is going to resemble a banana.


Honestly, I disagree. I think there will always be players who want to roll in the latest set, and our artists take great pride in their work, so they will always try to make all the art for new gear as awesome as they can.

For players who are between full sets, Transmogrification offers a cool opportunity to sport a 'complete' look, and enjoy favorite gear art from the past. Few players will want to look the same all the time though, so I expect that new art and new tier sets will remain in demand.
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#64 - Aug. 18, 2011, 1:16 a.m.
Blizzard Post
hummm if possible, can you answer this (many ppl are asking about it):

Will we have to own the item in order to use this new appearance feature?

Thanks :]


The question is a bit off topic for this thread, but yes. The item must be in your possession, and you have to be able to use (wear it), at the time of the Transmogrification.

08/17/2011 06:12 PMPosted by Monreale
That's wrong, because now they'll know that fans of that design can carry it over and they'll be encouraged to make lasting designs.


Another excellent point.
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#67 - Aug. 18, 2011, 1:18 a.m.
Blizzard Post
08/17/2011 06:17 PMPosted by Katsuodashi
Off-topic or not, this ruined the feature for me.


Why?
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#128 - Aug. 18, 2011, 2:10 a.m.
Blizzard Post
However, great new feature. However, does this mean that all my old armor sets that I destroyed to make room in cata (finally ran out of bank space) will have to be re-farmed? Does this also mean that none of my alts will be able to utilize this feature without first farming (tediously) old gear?

So in essence, this "feature" while wonderful, will be restricted to those that have the most time to go back and farm gear that either A. they destroyed due to storage constraints or B.never had in the first place.

Will we be able to open tickets to get gear we destroyed back?


Edit: Idea - perhaps have a vendor (much like the tabard or pet vendor) that will allow us to get back any gear we destroyed before this announcement was made.


If you want to obtain the look of gear that you've deleted in the past, then yes, you'll need to farm that old gear back. Opening a petition for that old gear isn't likely to bear fruit unless the item was deleted quite recently (usually within a month or two). Please don't submit a petition as a shot in the dark, since that just bogs down the system for everyone.

Alts can hang onto cool looking quest items and drops that they get while leveling, to use with the feature. It won't be limited to tier items, but that does mean that if they want to sport a full set of tier 5, then yes, they'll need to acquire it, just as any other character would.

We are interested in providing a means for players to purchase certain gear sets which aren't available for one reason or another, such as the dungeon sets or death knight starter set. Such a vendor would not provide access to all the gear a player has ever owned, though.

Like most features, this one will probably be most useful to those who are willing to invest the time in getting the most out of it. Or, at least, those who already had items that they like the look of laying around.

Speaking strictly for myself, I plan to have fun revisiting those old raids to build sets that I disposed of in the past.
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#131 - Aug. 18, 2011, 2:13 a.m.
Blizzard Post
08/17/2011 07:12 PMPosted by Taliany
Even Draxxarrii double posts...


(╯ಠ益ಠ)╯︵ ┻━┻
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#164 - Aug. 18, 2011, 2:41 a.m.
Blizzard Post
08/17/2011 07:27 PMPosted by Ruby
Why don't you add the old dungeon sets back into loot tables of lv 60 stuff? I think a vendor might be a little too "easy".


We're hoping to find ways to make it interesting. Oh, did you know that the Darkmoon Faire will be back, and more spectacular than ever before? I mean, yes, carnies are scary, but still. Cool, huh?
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#175 - Aug. 18, 2011, 2:50 a.m.
Blizzard Post
cause thats what i wanna do when 4.3 comes out!

instead of focusing on the new dungeons and raid, farm bwl and mc on all my characters.

/thumbsup


Sarcasm noted.

Well, you could get the stuff you're interested in now, instead of waiting for 4.3, and 'mog it' when the patch goes live.

Transmogrification presents an option, not an obligation.
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#200 - Aug. 18, 2011, 3:06 a.m.
Blizzard Post
08/17/2011 07:55 PMPosted by Fuzzles
The only thing about this that will bother me is not having (or being able to re-obtain) old PvP gearsets I had in the past, like full S1/2/3, 5/6/7 gear.


We would like to make sets that are no longer accessible available in some fashion. That doesn't necessarily mean that every set ever introduced will become available again, though.

How does the weapon transmogrification work? Would I for example be able to turn my Fandral's Flamescythe into a Zhar'doom, Greatstaff of the Devourer or Gorehowl even though the staff is completely different itemisation and Gorehowl is unusable by druids?


Some of the basics are covered in the blog we posted on Transmogrification: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/3309048#blog
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#204 - Aug. 18, 2011, 3:11 a.m.
Blizzard Post
What about quest rewards?

Medusoid Staff is one of the most awesome looking weapons in the game.

But most people are likely to have completed the quest and, even if they did choose the Medusoid Staff as the reward, I'm pretty sure they would have vendored it.

Will transmogrification using the Medusoid Staff be available only to players who are lucky enough to have kept it in their bags?


Terestian's Stranglestaff?

Traditionally, quest rewards haven't used unique models. That tends to be reserved for raid and dungeon gear (though there may be exceptions I'm unaware of).
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#223 - Aug. 18, 2011, 3:27 a.m.
Blizzard Post
DO NOT restrict this to owned items only. Simply put, it comes off as short sighed and half assed.


Oh, okay. Um, so, what would determine what items each character had access to? An achievement? Having looked at a boss that one time? Walked into a particular zone, perhaps? Would all characters get access to all armor art every time a new item is introduced, forever? Perhaps all characters would just get access to all the art from prior to Transmogrification -- but what about new characters? Why should they get access to all that art? What meaning would there be to a character's appearance, at all, in such a system?

It's less short-sighted than you think, and it's hardly an unreasonable requirement. It's actually quite neat and tidy. In the short term, it's a bit frustrating for those that already had the gear at one time (I'm one of them). In the long term, we feel that it's the most elegant method of approaching the issue of restricting Transmogrification.

I'm sorry that you feel otherwise.
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#263 - Aug. 18, 2011, 3:54 a.m.
Blizzard Post
If I have, say a Kalimdor's Revenge for example, do I need 2 of them if I want to duel wield it? Or can I use just the one for both of the swords I want to transmogrify?


As I understand it, you should be able to use the same Kalimdor's Revenge to Transmogrify any number of target two-handed swords.

As far as dual wielding goes, it can get slightly tricky because, while one-hand weapons can be used on two target one-handed weapons, a mainhand weapon could only be used on another mainhand weapon, while an offhand weapon would only work on another offhand.
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#281 - Aug. 18, 2011, 4:05 a.m.
Blizzard Post
08/17/2011 08:53 PMPosted by Nykal
THIS is elegant and not short sighted. might wanna look at how you define "elegent" blizz


I don't expect that everyone will agree with our implementation.

Still, there are reasons, both design-based and technical, that make the system we've chosen a vastly better option than the proposals I've seen in this thread.

That isn't an aspect of the system that's really subject to change.
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#294 - Aug. 18, 2011, 4:10 a.m.
Blizzard Post
08/17/2011 09:01 PMPosted by Jehan
There are many statted-items that are much uglier or equally combat-unworthy as those items, yet you can still equip them. So what's the justification for this restriction?


We're starting things relatively slow.

There may be a day in the future where some un-statted items can be Transmogrified, or other restrictions are eased. For now, we're going to see how the system works once it's been released "into the wild" first.
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#308 - Aug. 18, 2011, 4:23 a.m.
Blizzard Post
08/17/2011 09:09 PMPosted by Maldazzar
What about, for example, the Scourgelord Armor, Death Knights' Tier 10? While the set itself is exclusive to Death Knights, there are loads of "look-alike" copies all in Heroic-ICC. Will Warriors and Paladins be able to copy our look, too, or will we also see the Transmogrification refined to make sure the cosmetics are Class-appropriate, even if an item in your possession borrows from another Class's set?


If you can use it, and it has stats, and the target is the same kind of armor (plate to plate, for example), then you can probably Transmogrify it.

First, will the old item be destroyed, or will it remain for future use? For instance, if I transmorgrify my T12 chest to look like T2, and then later get T12 heroic chest (or T13, or...), will I have to get another T2 chest to transmorgrify it again, or can I use the same one?


Nope, you could use that one Tier 2 chest to Transmogrify any number of other chest pieces.
Forum Avatar
Community Manager
#343 - Aug. 18, 2011, 4:55 a.m.
Blizzard Post
1. I know the current model for Transmogrification only has type exceptions for Guns, Bows, and Crossbows. You also said that the restrictions may be eased in the future... is changing dagger looks to sword looks on the table? The reason I ask is because Combat Rogues have been asking for offhand swords since they were usurped by daggers this expansion.

2. Would something like Hanzo Sword be available for Transmogrification? It doesn't have traditional stats, but a proc instead. I'm not sure if that counts or not.


1. Since the possibility of easing restrictions is merely a possibility, rather than a likelihood, it's probably best that I not speculate.

2. I believe that an item with a proc, like a Hanzo Sword, would be eligible for Transmogrification.